Sunday, December 24, 2017

Book Review: A Queen in Jerusalem by Tami Shem-Tov & Rachella Sandbank, Illustrated by Avi Ofer

This review is meant for parents, teachers, and other people that work with children to read.

Malka's mother promised she would make her a Queen Esther costume for Purim but she doesn't have time to do so. Malka is disappointed and as she walks along the streets of Jerusalem she see a man hammering on a stone. She finds out his name is Boris and she tells him her story about she doesn't have a costume for the Purim holiday the next day and he leads her to some talent weavers who help make a dream come true for her beyond what she can imagine!

A lot of children will probably be able to understand through this story that the Purim holiday was important to Malka and they can probably eventually apply it to real life of maybe why their family and friends might also get excited about the holiday. They will be able to see how fun it was for Malka to get dressed up participate with the holiday using the costume that was made just for her!

This story does a great job of explaining who the man Boris in the story was and there is also an author's note going into more detail about who he was. Children will learn that not only was Boris a sculptor and painter but he also founded a royal school of art in Bulgaria and an art school in Jerusalem, which sounds like it still exists today.